Books by Chrissie Hynde

By the time she was 14, Chrissie Hynde knew she had to get out of Akron, Ohio. Her perfect 50s American childhood upturned by a newly acquired taste for rock n roll, motorbikes and the get down boys seen at gigs in and around Cleveland Mitch Ryder, the Jeff Beck Group, the Velvet Underground and David Bowie among the many.Wrapped up in the Kent State University riots and getting dangerously involved in the local biker and drug scenes, she escaped - to Mexico, Canada, Paris and finally London where she caught the embryonic punk scene just in time not only to witness it first-hand, but more importantly to seize the opportunity to form her own band, the Pretenders.Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Vivienne & Malcolm, Ray Davies on every page household names mingle with small town heroes as we shift from bedroom to biker HQ; from squat to practice room; from pub gig to Top Of The Pops the long and crooked path to stardom, and for the Pretenders, ultimately, tragedy.That Chrissie Hynde is alive to tell the tale is, by her own admission, something of a miracle. Throughout she is brutally honest, wryly humorous and always highly entertaining. She has written one of the most evocative and colourful music memoirs to be published in recent years.

The oil paintings of Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde are selected from and presented here, with introductory text and captions from Hynde. A personal and honest account of the artistic world of a much-loved performer.

Chrissie Hynde er og var en usædvanlig person – selv iblandt de meget få kvindelige rockstjerner. Som sanger, sangskriver, komponist og forgrundsfigur i The Pretenders var hun intens, androgyn, sekset, rebelsk, hidsig og frygtløs. Her er hendes egen historie. Hun voksede op i Akron, Ohio, hvor hendes forældre opdragede hende til at blive en pæn forstadspige i 1950’erne. Hun stak af til koncerter, blev kæreste med en rocker, sprang fra skolen, altsammen i en vild jagt på rockmusikken. Og i 1973 tog hun til London for at starte et band. Hun begyndte med at skrive for det berømte New Musical Express, og snart blev hun kendt for at sige den nådesløse sandhed om bandsene & pladerne & koncerterne. Så startede hun sit band.